Social media becomes crucial marketing tool for small business

For the city and almost every business with a Facebook page, social media is no longer a place for people to check in with their friends and family. It’s an advertising tool. And it has become an extremely valuable marketing channel.

Social media managers have been able to figure out some of the ways to get attention without spending money. For example, Facebook now allows users to upload video directly to the site, and views tend to be much better if a video is posted this way as opposed to a link from YouTube, Aldridge said. Virginia’s Blue Ridge recently shared a 12-second Facebook video of the Northern Lights over the Blue Ridge Parkway. It amassed nearly 9,000 views.